Vacations Blog

I absolutely love Nova Scotia – Halifax is one of the prettiest coastal towns I’ve ever seen, and a destination that I have in mind for next summer (which I will be sure to tell you guys all about). Getting there takes a little bit of effort, though, if you’re coming from the United States. Well, it probably takes a bit of effort to get there no matter WHERE you start from. But the journey is half the adventure, right?

If traveling by car, you have to take a rather circuitous route. The most direct way to get there from, say, Boston, MA, is an eleven hour drive that takes you along I-95 to the border of Canada where it meets Houlton, ME (it’s a little over nine hours if you start from Portland, ME). From there one follows Rt. 2 to Rt. 102, and from there Rt. 118 into Halifax.

Route from Boston, MA, to Halifax, Nova Scotia

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Courtesy of Wikimedia

So now that the weather is getting warmer in Southern California and the whales are near the end of their southward migration through the Pacific, it’s a good time to take advantage of pre-summer rates and thinned out crowds for adventures and sightseeing.  The off-season is considered mid-September through April, so you still have a month to hop on to some good deals.  But be forewarned:  even with discounts a trip to Catalina can add up quickly.

Courtesy of Catalina Ferries

Just getting there is no joke.  The most popular way to make the jump is by ferry.  At this time of the year Catalina Ferries runs a high-speed catamaran between Marina del Rey and Avalon or Two Harbors on Catalina Island only on the weekends.  Adult tickets are $75.00 and the less than $10 bump is worth the cost for the time you’ll save NOT sitting in traffic on the 710, which will get you down to Long Beach where Catalina Express departs from three ports, and one in Dana Point.  The Long Beach company operates more frequently, however, and that would be the way to go if you want to depart during the week.  All trips are advertised as taking one hour to an hour and fifteen minutes but you have to allocate time for parking and boarding and getting settled, especially if you are bringing children who walk and can run away from you.

View from Island Express helicopter

If your children are seaworthy, you can sail to Catalina from either point with companies like Mariner Sailing Charters , but that ride takes 7 to 8 hours and can be pretty expensive, so you should really know that you love the water.  If lack of money or fear of heights are not issues for you, you might as well take a helicopter.

The two main places to land are Avalon (check it out on the webcam!), the quaint little town filled with hotels, restaurants, shops, and vacation outfitters that cater to your every whim, or Two Harbors, a much less-populated landing with a smaller harbor and more rugged lodgings.  Hikers, sailors, campers, and people who don’t like people will be happier in the latter spot.  If it’s your first time visiting the island, you should probably check out Avalon, especially if “camping” to you means a roof over your head and flush toilets.

Avalon is home to plenty of hotels ranging from cruddy and thin-walled to luxurious, but like everything else the hotels are on island scale, since everything there had to be brought in on a barge.  Just beware that some hotels are specifically NOT for children.  There is also one campground near Avalon, if “camping” to you means “camping.”  There are very few cars on the island, so people get around on foot or on bicycles, or you can rent a golf cart.

Avalon Bay and Village

Once you are there and settled the list of things to do with your family is as long as the inevitable line outside Big Olaf’s Ice Cream Parlor.  Many of the tickets or fees for activities can be purchased in combination with hotel costs or ferry tickets.  Here are just some of the possibilities.

Kayaking
Beach combing and swimming (althought right now the water is pretty cold)
Touring the island by bus – you might see some bison which roam the less peopled hills
Underwater sightseeing by submarine
Glass bottomed boat tour
Enjoy a buffalo burger
Snorkeling and scuba diving – at Lover’s Cove the fish will eat right out of your had
Fishing – those are some fat, tourist-fed fish!
Dining and shopping in the village

Courtesy of Descanso Beach Ocean Sports

So enjoy.  And don’t forget your sweater.  It gets chilly.

When we drive west from Idaho, we’re usually heading toward the Seattle area to visit friends and family.  But for restful family vacations, we drive just a little further west to Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.  It’s an amazingly diverse place, and we never know what we’re going to find when we go there to explore.

A lavender farm in Sequim, Washington

Last summer we spent a day in the area around the town of Sequim (that’s pronounced “skwim”) on the northern shore of the Peninsula. Our first stop was at a lavender farm.  Sequim bills itself as the lavender capital of North America, which explains why there is lavender everywhere you look.  Each July the town holds a 3-day Lavender Festival to celebrate the fragrant purple flowers.  Any time of the year, you can find all things lavender at dozens of farms and shops throughout town.  Take a chance and sample some lavender ice cream.  It leaves an interesting aftertaste.  We spent about an hour strolling the beautiful grounds of the Purple Haze Lavender Farm.  There’s no charge to just wander around admiring the flowers and the view.  There’s a gift shop, stocked with all things lavender, as well as a quaint farm house available as a vacation rental

Five miles of sand and driftwood

The kids were restless, so we moved on to what turned out to be the great surprise of the day.  We found it at The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge just outside of Sequim.  The main geographic feature of the Refuge is the Dungeness Spit, the longest natural sand spit in the country.  Quite honestly, I wasn’t expecting much at the Spit.  A lot of sand, to be sure. But the simplicity of the place is what charmed us. The Spit is five miles of sand and driftwood, with ocean on either side. It was absolutely mesmerizing.

I’ve never seen my kids happier than when they gazed out over all that driftwood and began mentally designing tri-level forts and castles. The sand and the ocean were a blur to them. All they cared about was building stuff.  There is no shortage of material to work with, and there is certainly no shortage of sunshine on the northern coast of the peninsula.  The dry climate of Sequim (only 15 inches of rain a year) almost guarantees that rain won’t ruin your family vacation.

Zen rocks at the Dungeness Spit

This is the kind of outing where you don’t need to bring anything but a few chairs, towels, and snacks.  If you’re not in the mood to build driftwood forts, you can take off your shoes and enjoy a leisurely barefoot stroll down the beach.  Or sit and stack rocks (talk about a stress reducer).

It’s surprising finds like Sequim and the Spit that is making my family fall in love with the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. It’s one of the most diverse, and least crowded, areas I’ve ever visited. It’s easily accessible from Seattle by ferry, the roads are good, the distances not too far, and the scenery is some of the most spectacular in the country.  You can hike on a glacier, stroll through a rain forest, and then enjoy a driftwood fire on a spectacular ocean beach, all in one day.

Most of all, the Peninsula reminds me that the simple things are sometimes the best. Children certainly don’t need a lot of bells and whistles to have fun on vacation. A simple walk on the beach can spur imagination and creativity like nothing else. That’s what will keep us returning to places like the Dungeness Spit.

Strolling along the spit.

Building a driftwood fort on the Dungeness Spit

All photos by Phil Corless